Jeanne-Marie and Victor at JP's party
Mar. 16th, 2013 09:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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om_mainAt Jean-Paul's dinner, Victor and Jeanne-Marie have their first proper conversation.
Jeanne-Marie cradled a glass of some fizzy-but-virgin cocktail as she wandered around talking to people. It was funny to be here again, to think of how awed and almost frightened she'd been when they'd stepped inside, when she'd been presented with the menu. How Simon and Jean-Paul had stopped bickering for just long enough to help her feel more comfortable. She glanced at the boys... and, finding them nowhere near one another (again), frowned.
She was making that very face when she spotted Victor in a corner--and decided that he did not look so very happy either. Still, seeing him made her smile; she didn't know him well, but she had been at the school long enough to be on regular, comfortable acquaintance terms with almost everyone in it, and certainly everyone her brother called friend. She approached and gave a little wave with her free hand. "Are you hiding, Victor?"
"No, not hiding just...I dunno." He shrugged, checking his inducer again. He didn't like using it anymore but he had to in order to join in with the others with stuff like this. "Uncomfortable I guess. You look pretty tonight." After all he could still notice that even if he was more inclined towards her brother.
"Thank you. And you look different, but still adorable." Jeanne-Marie sometimes wondered how the students with inducers felt. She sort of understood Angelo's viewpoint, if only from Alison, and she knew Josh considered his mostly a convenience (though she suspected he liked his golden skin, and why not?).
She didn't want to make Victor feel more awkward than necessary, but it still seemed worth commenting on. "You are uncomfortable with the crowd, or with the image?" She gestured at his form to clarify, not wanting to be too explicit with her words in public, though the wait staff was being very good about not hovering.
"Both I guess." Victor nodded but now really wasn't the time to air his dirty laundry, tonight was Jean-Paul's night and he was trying. Still, no one he was particularly close with was here really. They were nice just not people he spent a lot of time with and he was paranoid enough as it was lately.
Plus Felix was here, Victor hadn't properly seen the other boy lately despite sharing classes with him. That whole mess still left him hurt and confused. He'd trusted and liked Felix but it had all been some kind of bluff or joke for the other boy. "Everyone seems to know everyone else here pretty well."
Ah, yes, she understood perfectly. Victor always seemed to have friends, but she wasn't sure who he was closest to, apart from Jean-Paul. She had thought Felix, but maybe just because they were nearer to the same age. "I do not know Philip very well," she admitted, "though he seems very sweet and gentlemanly. I only know Paige a little--I am better friends with her roommate--and have never really spoken to Shinobi. Though they make a... strange but cute couple. I mostly know Noriko through Jean-Paul."
She winced a little, thinking of her and Anders... and wondered if she had the same suspicions--or if Tessa had found anything out. Yes, she should speak to Noriko as soon as possible... but maybe not tonight. She didn't want to ruin her evening, and anyhow, she wasn't totally sure, yet.
Anyhow, "I suppose it is an opportunity to get to know them. But sometimes I am just not in the mood for that kind of effort." Added because, of course, she strongly suspected Victor was in no mood at all.
"I hear you. Paige is nice, she tutors me sometimes but she's got a date so I wouldn't want to bother her." He'd never met her date but, like most of the obviously unattainable older boys, he was really good looking. Last thing he needed tonight was to be a stuttering mess on top of everything else.
"Simon's great too but..." He shrugged, it was petty to blame him for being the bearer of bad news but he still didn't feel comfortable approaching him. Not that he ever had done before really. "I dunno. It's nice talking to you though. We've never really done that much before." He didn't want to insult Jeanne-Marie on top of everything else after all.
She reached out to give his arm a squeeze, sipping at her drink a little. "To tell the truth, I am not in the mood to talk to some of my friends, tonight." She didn't know if Victor was aware of Jean-Paul and Simon as a couple, but, well, most everyone was by this time. Even if they didn't like to admit it. But really, did he need to be so... stand-offish? Poor Jean-Paul!
"Do you know Tessa at all? She seems very strange at first, I know, but she is actually very easy to talk to."
"We've met." Victor nodded though suspected that 'she's one of Pietro's harem' didn't sound right. Plus it wasn't his information to tell. Tessa was also the one who told him to see Simon for a check-up. "She does seem nice when we've spoken" But he still didn't feel like approaching her. It was weird, he'd never been shy before his change.
Jeanne-Marie laughed, but gently. She wasn't sure what Victor was thinking-but-not-saying, but, "You do not seem convinced. Hmm, who else is here... ah, Lydia, but if you don't find Tessa so easy to talk to, certainly Lydia is less so." Jeanne-Marie liked Lydia, in fact, very much, but she suspected that were she not such good friends with Jean-Paul, Jeanne-Marie might find her more intimidating than anything else. For someone so small and cute, something about Lydia was a little bit fierce. "Scott also seems very distant, but he is in truth very kind. He reminds me of Jean-Paul, sometimes."
She was no longer making suggestions, simply commenting on the company for the sake of amusing Victor. He seemed as if he might need it.
"Really? They seem pretty different to me." Victor said before adding hastily. "Not that I know either very well. Scott seems really serious, I thought Jean-Paul was too at first but I was wrong." He still couldn't quite get over the whole crazy flying thing to cheer him up. He'd never thought Jean-Paul was capable of something so, well, silly.
"Scott does not have Jean-Paul's exact sense of humor, but they start out very similarly--sarcastic and, ah, dry. Jean-Paul's then... takes a different direction." She laughed, thinking of their recent dance party and the way he'd been so funny with Brian that day. (And batted away other thoughts of Brian because, no. That was not for tonight.) "But in many things, they are similar; I think getting to know my brother helped very much in learning to manage a friend like Scott."
"What kind of friend needs to be 'managed'?" Victor asked curiously. He was strangely at ease with Jeanne-Marie despite not knowing her well.
She laughed and turned to lean against the wall next to him. It was nice to take a little pressure off her heels, though they were surprisingly comfortable, it would be a long evening in them. "It is a funny word, isn't it? But for once it is not my trouble with English; I have a few friends who need managed. Kevin, too, I think, if in a different way.
"They are like..." She sipped thoughtfully and considered how best to express her point. "People who shut down very easily. People who would rather stay inside themselves than risk a friendly conversation, sometimes. Or people who take themselves too seriously--and please do not tell either of them I said that, if you speak to them." Her small laugh and the look in her eyes would no doubt tell him she was only joking--she had no doubt that Victor would never consider any such thing.
Victor did a quick 'cross my heart' motion. "I do know what you mean. I'm still shocked that Jean-Paul even gives me the time of day if I'm honest."
"There are days when I feel very much the same, if I am honest." She was still joking, but more gently, laced with just a touch of self-doubt. She felt it in all of her friendships, but never was she so careful as with her own brother. Not because of him, but because she didn't understand how to... love, maybe? "But the softer the heart, the more guarded it is wise to be, I think. And my brother is wise--in some ways."
She looked around at the company again. "His choices in friends are more limited than mine, but I cannot fault any of them, certainly."
"Well, he made a wise choice in boyfriends at least. Or, well, whatever it was he said they were calling it." Victor dipped his voice lower even though there was little chance of being over heard. "And I don't think you have anything to worry about. The way he talks about you? Most brothers I've met don't usually care that much, at least they don't let it be known for fear of being uncool. Not that Jean-Paul probably ever worries about looking uncool."
Jeanne-Marie's jaw tightened just enough to make the muscle twitch at the "boyfriends" mention, but she softened at the rest. "No, Jean-Paul would not worry about that. Winning, yes, looking cool, no.
"I do not have much basis for comparison, but yes, I think he must be the best brother imaginable. I know he cares--he cares for everyone in this room. Deeply." Again, a little tightening, her gaze sliding to Simon. "It would be nice if others would let it show as he does, in return."
Victor nodded and admitted "He told me a little about that." He followed her gaze and asked "You're worried about them?"
Jeanne-Marie considered Victor briefly, but since he was Jean-Paul's friend and already knew about him and Simon, she felt she could discuss it. It was something of a relief, really. And she knew Victor had recently had his own relationship issues, so perhaps he would have a helpful perspective--assuming she didn't dig up something awkward in the process.
Ah well, speaking to anyone in this room could be a minefield of awkwardness, in that way. Why should it stop her now? "It is only that I do not like seeing Simon, ah, ignore him in public. I understand Simon's reasons--as much as I can, having grown up without a family.
"But as we said, Jean-Paul does not give his friendship lightly. Or his affection. To see it hidden in public... of course I worry about what it does to him, no matter the reason for it."
"Well, I know I'm not an expert or anything." The young boy said almost cautiously, unsure as to whether or not his opinion was welcome. "I think so long as they're honest with each other then they've got a good shot, rest of the world be damned."
"That is very true." Jeanne-Marie took another sip. "But I think this is something it would be difficult for Jean-Paul--for anyone to be honest about. We are all afraid to ask too much, afraid it will push people away."
Victor nodded with great empathy "Yeah, yeah I know."
"I do not know much about being a sister, but I do know that anything I fear could hurt him makes me angry." She chewed at her bottom lip a little. "Still. Jean-Paul would say that Simon will come around. That he needs time."
Ah, the excuses they could make for the people they loved. Jean-Paul was so careful about who he loved because he loved so hard--and that was what she disliked the most about how Simon was treating him in public. "But I cannot be happy with it, all the same."
The younger boy nodded again, to show he was listening and understood, even agreed to a certain extent. "Sometimes though, sometimes it's a mistake you have to make. No matter what the consequence." And, God, didn't he know all about that? Not that he thought Jean-Paul was making a mistake, the exact opposite in fact, but still. "If it means anything, I don't think Simon would ever intentionally hurt your brother."
"I know that for certain. And I know for certain that opening your heart to someone almost always means they will hurt you, somehow--and that you will come through it. It is worth it, I think." Or she hoped, anyhow. "But it doesn't make it easy for your friends to watch."
She looked away from Simon and Jean-Paul, who she had been eyeing back and forth, and turned her attention to Victor. She had not meant to bring it up, but it seemed like a good place to express, "I am sorry that you seem to know so much about it, though."
Victor shrugged "You live and you learn." He said simply because now so wasn't the time or place. "I hope things turn out differently for them though. They've both been very kind to me when they didn't have to be."
"I think," Jeanne-Marie said softly, "that the people worth befriending need more of a reason to be cruel or dismissive than kind. But they are both kind, and very good for each other. I know it will come out right."
"But you can't help but worry, right? Can't say I blame you." He nodded and sipped his own drink. If he had a brother or sister then he'd worry too.
"Would you do it?" Jeanne-Marie asked, almost suddenly. Just, it wasn't as if this was the first time Simon had publicly denied Jean-Paul for the sake of his family. She wanted to believe it was just him getting used to the idea, but what if it was simply a pattern? What if he would never be able to stand up to them, to bite the hand that fed, so to speak, in order to do what was right? Yes, it could be excused up to a point for a new relationship, but... "If your family would disown you, would you pretend not to be with someone, or to be someone else? Maybe just until you were sure?"
"I haven't told my parents. The fact that their son's a" He mouthed the word mutant despite their current privacy. "Nearly killed them, I don't want to hurt them anymore. Or disappoint them. Would I lie in general? No, not now but that's only because I just had a relationship I had to lie through and it's so draining and hurts so much. But like I said, they're honest with each other at least and that's good."
Jeanne-Marie did not repeat her belief that this was something about which Jean-Paul could not be honest. No more than she could with how much she needed him, truth be told. Perhaps it was another genetic quirk, she thought, with a wry little smile. Anyhow, Victor obviously wanted to believe, and she wouldn't disabuse him of the notion.
"I am sorry that you think it would disappoint them," she said instead, gaze fixed once more on her brother, expression the same... apart from a touch of old guilt in her eyes. "But one thing I do know about family from experience--sometimes they do not understand at first. But when they love you, they will want to understand. And they will love you for it."
Victor nodded "I just don't want to overload them, when their still dealing with my other stuff."
"That is very good of you." It should not have been necessary, but she was sure she would do the same, in the circumstances. "Anyhow, you are here now, which is a kind of freedom for all of us. We can at least be who we are in more ways."
"Yeah, and Simon needs time to adjust too. He's not as free as some of us even here. Give him some time, yeah?" Because as much as he understood Jeanne-Marie's concern, he knew a little of the fear Simon was going through. Ok, not exactly but he knew better than she did anyway.
Jeanne-Marie raised her eyebrows. "What else could I do?"
Victor shrugged with a smile. He hadn't assumed Jeanne Marie would do anything, he was just giving his opinion like she asked.
"It is a shame, I was hoping you would have some outlandish suggestions." Jeanne-Marie mock-sighed, biting back a laugh. "Stand up on the table and demand a declaration of love. Or perhaps post a photo of them watching a sunset together to the intranet journals..."
"But, see, I was thinking you were a good girl but now I see you're a rebel in sheep's clothing." Victor chuckled with a grin. "Or you could, um, pretend to slap him on the back and stick a 'Ilove JP' sign on his back?" It was the best he could do off the top of his head.
"I love it." Jeanne-Marie smirked and leaned down closer to whisper, "I'll never tell him it was your idea, don't worry."
"No one would believe you anyway." The grinned back at her evilly. "Haven't you heard? I'm a sweetheart."
Jeanne-Marie cradled a glass of some fizzy-but-virgin cocktail as she wandered around talking to people. It was funny to be here again, to think of how awed and almost frightened she'd been when they'd stepped inside, when she'd been presented with the menu. How Simon and Jean-Paul had stopped bickering for just long enough to help her feel more comfortable. She glanced at the boys... and, finding them nowhere near one another (again), frowned.
She was making that very face when she spotted Victor in a corner--and decided that he did not look so very happy either. Still, seeing him made her smile; she didn't know him well, but she had been at the school long enough to be on regular, comfortable acquaintance terms with almost everyone in it, and certainly everyone her brother called friend. She approached and gave a little wave with her free hand. "Are you hiding, Victor?"
"No, not hiding just...I dunno." He shrugged, checking his inducer again. He didn't like using it anymore but he had to in order to join in with the others with stuff like this. "Uncomfortable I guess. You look pretty tonight." After all he could still notice that even if he was more inclined towards her brother.
"Thank you. And you look different, but still adorable." Jeanne-Marie sometimes wondered how the students with inducers felt. She sort of understood Angelo's viewpoint, if only from Alison, and she knew Josh considered his mostly a convenience (though she suspected he liked his golden skin, and why not?).
She didn't want to make Victor feel more awkward than necessary, but it still seemed worth commenting on. "You are uncomfortable with the crowd, or with the image?" She gestured at his form to clarify, not wanting to be too explicit with her words in public, though the wait staff was being very good about not hovering.
"Both I guess." Victor nodded but now really wasn't the time to air his dirty laundry, tonight was Jean-Paul's night and he was trying. Still, no one he was particularly close with was here really. They were nice just not people he spent a lot of time with and he was paranoid enough as it was lately.
Plus Felix was here, Victor hadn't properly seen the other boy lately despite sharing classes with him. That whole mess still left him hurt and confused. He'd trusted and liked Felix but it had all been some kind of bluff or joke for the other boy. "Everyone seems to know everyone else here pretty well."
Ah, yes, she understood perfectly. Victor always seemed to have friends, but she wasn't sure who he was closest to, apart from Jean-Paul. She had thought Felix, but maybe just because they were nearer to the same age. "I do not know Philip very well," she admitted, "though he seems very sweet and gentlemanly. I only know Paige a little--I am better friends with her roommate--and have never really spoken to Shinobi. Though they make a... strange but cute couple. I mostly know Noriko through Jean-Paul."
She winced a little, thinking of her and Anders... and wondered if she had the same suspicions--or if Tessa had found anything out. Yes, she should speak to Noriko as soon as possible... but maybe not tonight. She didn't want to ruin her evening, and anyhow, she wasn't totally sure, yet.
Anyhow, "I suppose it is an opportunity to get to know them. But sometimes I am just not in the mood for that kind of effort." Added because, of course, she strongly suspected Victor was in no mood at all.
"I hear you. Paige is nice, she tutors me sometimes but she's got a date so I wouldn't want to bother her." He'd never met her date but, like most of the obviously unattainable older boys, he was really good looking. Last thing he needed tonight was to be a stuttering mess on top of everything else.
"Simon's great too but..." He shrugged, it was petty to blame him for being the bearer of bad news but he still didn't feel comfortable approaching him. Not that he ever had done before really. "I dunno. It's nice talking to you though. We've never really done that much before." He didn't want to insult Jeanne-Marie on top of everything else after all.
She reached out to give his arm a squeeze, sipping at her drink a little. "To tell the truth, I am not in the mood to talk to some of my friends, tonight." She didn't know if Victor was aware of Jean-Paul and Simon as a couple, but, well, most everyone was by this time. Even if they didn't like to admit it. But really, did he need to be so... stand-offish? Poor Jean-Paul!
"Do you know Tessa at all? She seems very strange at first, I know, but she is actually very easy to talk to."
"We've met." Victor nodded though suspected that 'she's one of Pietro's harem' didn't sound right. Plus it wasn't his information to tell. Tessa was also the one who told him to see Simon for a check-up. "She does seem nice when we've spoken" But he still didn't feel like approaching her. It was weird, he'd never been shy before his change.
Jeanne-Marie laughed, but gently. She wasn't sure what Victor was thinking-but-not-saying, but, "You do not seem convinced. Hmm, who else is here... ah, Lydia, but if you don't find Tessa so easy to talk to, certainly Lydia is less so." Jeanne-Marie liked Lydia, in fact, very much, but she suspected that were she not such good friends with Jean-Paul, Jeanne-Marie might find her more intimidating than anything else. For someone so small and cute, something about Lydia was a little bit fierce. "Scott also seems very distant, but he is in truth very kind. He reminds me of Jean-Paul, sometimes."
She was no longer making suggestions, simply commenting on the company for the sake of amusing Victor. He seemed as if he might need it.
"Really? They seem pretty different to me." Victor said before adding hastily. "Not that I know either very well. Scott seems really serious, I thought Jean-Paul was too at first but I was wrong." He still couldn't quite get over the whole crazy flying thing to cheer him up. He'd never thought Jean-Paul was capable of something so, well, silly.
"Scott does not have Jean-Paul's exact sense of humor, but they start out very similarly--sarcastic and, ah, dry. Jean-Paul's then... takes a different direction." She laughed, thinking of their recent dance party and the way he'd been so funny with Brian that day. (And batted away other thoughts of Brian because, no. That was not for tonight.) "But in many things, they are similar; I think getting to know my brother helped very much in learning to manage a friend like Scott."
"What kind of friend needs to be 'managed'?" Victor asked curiously. He was strangely at ease with Jeanne-Marie despite not knowing her well.
She laughed and turned to lean against the wall next to him. It was nice to take a little pressure off her heels, though they were surprisingly comfortable, it would be a long evening in them. "It is a funny word, isn't it? But for once it is not my trouble with English; I have a few friends who need managed. Kevin, too, I think, if in a different way.
"They are like..." She sipped thoughtfully and considered how best to express her point. "People who shut down very easily. People who would rather stay inside themselves than risk a friendly conversation, sometimes. Or people who take themselves too seriously--and please do not tell either of them I said that, if you speak to them." Her small laugh and the look in her eyes would no doubt tell him she was only joking--she had no doubt that Victor would never consider any such thing.
Victor did a quick 'cross my heart' motion. "I do know what you mean. I'm still shocked that Jean-Paul even gives me the time of day if I'm honest."
"There are days when I feel very much the same, if I am honest." She was still joking, but more gently, laced with just a touch of self-doubt. She felt it in all of her friendships, but never was she so careful as with her own brother. Not because of him, but because she didn't understand how to... love, maybe? "But the softer the heart, the more guarded it is wise to be, I think. And my brother is wise--in some ways."
She looked around at the company again. "His choices in friends are more limited than mine, but I cannot fault any of them, certainly."
"Well, he made a wise choice in boyfriends at least. Or, well, whatever it was he said they were calling it." Victor dipped his voice lower even though there was little chance of being over heard. "And I don't think you have anything to worry about. The way he talks about you? Most brothers I've met don't usually care that much, at least they don't let it be known for fear of being uncool. Not that Jean-Paul probably ever worries about looking uncool."
Jeanne-Marie's jaw tightened just enough to make the muscle twitch at the "boyfriends" mention, but she softened at the rest. "No, Jean-Paul would not worry about that. Winning, yes, looking cool, no.
"I do not have much basis for comparison, but yes, I think he must be the best brother imaginable. I know he cares--he cares for everyone in this room. Deeply." Again, a little tightening, her gaze sliding to Simon. "It would be nice if others would let it show as he does, in return."
Victor nodded and admitted "He told me a little about that." He followed her gaze and asked "You're worried about them?"
Jeanne-Marie considered Victor briefly, but since he was Jean-Paul's friend and already knew about him and Simon, she felt she could discuss it. It was something of a relief, really. And she knew Victor had recently had his own relationship issues, so perhaps he would have a helpful perspective--assuming she didn't dig up something awkward in the process.
Ah well, speaking to anyone in this room could be a minefield of awkwardness, in that way. Why should it stop her now? "It is only that I do not like seeing Simon, ah, ignore him in public. I understand Simon's reasons--as much as I can, having grown up without a family.
"But as we said, Jean-Paul does not give his friendship lightly. Or his affection. To see it hidden in public... of course I worry about what it does to him, no matter the reason for it."
"Well, I know I'm not an expert or anything." The young boy said almost cautiously, unsure as to whether or not his opinion was welcome. "I think so long as they're honest with each other then they've got a good shot, rest of the world be damned."
"That is very true." Jeanne-Marie took another sip. "But I think this is something it would be difficult for Jean-Paul--for anyone to be honest about. We are all afraid to ask too much, afraid it will push people away."
Victor nodded with great empathy "Yeah, yeah I know."
"I do not know much about being a sister, but I do know that anything I fear could hurt him makes me angry." She chewed at her bottom lip a little. "Still. Jean-Paul would say that Simon will come around. That he needs time."
Ah, the excuses they could make for the people they loved. Jean-Paul was so careful about who he loved because he loved so hard--and that was what she disliked the most about how Simon was treating him in public. "But I cannot be happy with it, all the same."
The younger boy nodded again, to show he was listening and understood, even agreed to a certain extent. "Sometimes though, sometimes it's a mistake you have to make. No matter what the consequence." And, God, didn't he know all about that? Not that he thought Jean-Paul was making a mistake, the exact opposite in fact, but still. "If it means anything, I don't think Simon would ever intentionally hurt your brother."
"I know that for certain. And I know for certain that opening your heart to someone almost always means they will hurt you, somehow--and that you will come through it. It is worth it, I think." Or she hoped, anyhow. "But it doesn't make it easy for your friends to watch."
She looked away from Simon and Jean-Paul, who she had been eyeing back and forth, and turned her attention to Victor. She had not meant to bring it up, but it seemed like a good place to express, "I am sorry that you seem to know so much about it, though."
Victor shrugged "You live and you learn." He said simply because now so wasn't the time or place. "I hope things turn out differently for them though. They've both been very kind to me when they didn't have to be."
"I think," Jeanne-Marie said softly, "that the people worth befriending need more of a reason to be cruel or dismissive than kind. But they are both kind, and very good for each other. I know it will come out right."
"But you can't help but worry, right? Can't say I blame you." He nodded and sipped his own drink. If he had a brother or sister then he'd worry too.
"Would you do it?" Jeanne-Marie asked, almost suddenly. Just, it wasn't as if this was the first time Simon had publicly denied Jean-Paul for the sake of his family. She wanted to believe it was just him getting used to the idea, but what if it was simply a pattern? What if he would never be able to stand up to them, to bite the hand that fed, so to speak, in order to do what was right? Yes, it could be excused up to a point for a new relationship, but... "If your family would disown you, would you pretend not to be with someone, or to be someone else? Maybe just until you were sure?"
"I haven't told my parents. The fact that their son's a" He mouthed the word mutant despite their current privacy. "Nearly killed them, I don't want to hurt them anymore. Or disappoint them. Would I lie in general? No, not now but that's only because I just had a relationship I had to lie through and it's so draining and hurts so much. But like I said, they're honest with each other at least and that's good."
Jeanne-Marie did not repeat her belief that this was something about which Jean-Paul could not be honest. No more than she could with how much she needed him, truth be told. Perhaps it was another genetic quirk, she thought, with a wry little smile. Anyhow, Victor obviously wanted to believe, and she wouldn't disabuse him of the notion.
"I am sorry that you think it would disappoint them," she said instead, gaze fixed once more on her brother, expression the same... apart from a touch of old guilt in her eyes. "But one thing I do know about family from experience--sometimes they do not understand at first. But when they love you, they will want to understand. And they will love you for it."
Victor nodded "I just don't want to overload them, when their still dealing with my other stuff."
"That is very good of you." It should not have been necessary, but she was sure she would do the same, in the circumstances. "Anyhow, you are here now, which is a kind of freedom for all of us. We can at least be who we are in more ways."
"Yeah, and Simon needs time to adjust too. He's not as free as some of us even here. Give him some time, yeah?" Because as much as he understood Jeanne-Marie's concern, he knew a little of the fear Simon was going through. Ok, not exactly but he knew better than she did anyway.
Jeanne-Marie raised her eyebrows. "What else could I do?"
Victor shrugged with a smile. He hadn't assumed Jeanne Marie would do anything, he was just giving his opinion like she asked.
"It is a shame, I was hoping you would have some outlandish suggestions." Jeanne-Marie mock-sighed, biting back a laugh. "Stand up on the table and demand a declaration of love. Or perhaps post a photo of them watching a sunset together to the intranet journals..."
"But, see, I was thinking you were a good girl but now I see you're a rebel in sheep's clothing." Victor chuckled with a grin. "Or you could, um, pretend to slap him on the back and stick a 'Ilove JP' sign on his back?" It was the best he could do off the top of his head.
"I love it." Jeanne-Marie smirked and leaned down closer to whisper, "I'll never tell him it was your idea, don't worry."
"No one would believe you anyway." The grinned back at her evilly. "Haven't you heard? I'm a sweetheart."
